Since last Thursday night when the CFL rules committee passed the proposal to make defensive pass interference the first judgment penalty subject to video review by coaches challenge, there have been many that have opposed the idea and the debate on sports talk radio has been heated. It should be noted that the rules committee passing the proposal does not necessarily mean it will happen. The final approval has to come from the CFL Board of Governors, who will vote in about a month. However, it is time to do something about improving the consistency when it comes pass interference in football, and this rule proposal is a strong step in that direction. Defensive pass interference is the most controversial and game changing penalty in the sport. It is a point-of-foul penalty, meaning the ball is advanced to where the penalty occurred. In other words it is a game changer, and yet ask any football official and, if they are being honest, they will tell you it is the most difficult call to make on the field. A receiver and a defensive back are battling down the field at high speeds, and usually one, maybe two officials are trying to keep up and make what is the ultimate judgment call, while at times looking through and around other players in their line of vision. So for every issue raised by those opposed to this new rule proposal, let me make an argument as to why I think implementing this rule will make the game, and everyone involved in it, better. The following is a list of the concerns that I have heard with this new rule, and my opposing argument. 1. It will take too long and extend the game. Currently coaches have two challenges per game and if they are correct on both they get a third. That will not change with this new rule. The coaches do not get extra challenges with this rule proposal, and therefore, it will not extend the game. It may be a challenge that takes slightly longer than others. For instance, taking a second look as to whether or not a player has his foot inbounds will take less time than reviewing a DPI call but, we are talking about seconds here. And when you average out all the challenges in a game, again this new rule should not make any difference in the overall time it takes to complete a football game. Lets put it this way, if a DPI review is a longer review by a few seconds, there are lots of ways to save time in other areas. Perhaps an article for another time. 2. It opens a can of worms. Whats next, should they review holding, and offsides? It wont happen! Again back to the severity of the penalty. No other foul in football can advance the ball an unlimited amount of yards. This is also the reason that this rule change does not apply to offensive pass interference. OPI is a 10-yard penalty, not a point-of-foul penalty, so because of that, like any other 5-yard, 10-yard, or 15-yard penalty it will never be subject to video review. The worms can stay in that can. 3. The on-field official gets into the flow of the game. Sometimes the game is more physical and they let things go more, and a ref sitting in an office in the command centre will not understand that flow and see things in a different way. Herein lies the problem as to why pass interference is such a controversial, and inconsistent penalty call. The premise of this issue for those opposed to this rule change is that, sometimes an officiating crew calls a game differently from one week to the next based on the flow of the game. Sometimes a crew will call a game differently in the first quarter than they do in the fourth quarter. Sometimes the game will be called differently from one crew to another. So how is a guy in Toronto in the command centre going to understand that flow? Wow, so I ask you, what does a coach say to his defensive backs when it comes to pass interference? In order to find some common ground and consistency, this game-changing penalty can no longer be called based on the "flow of the game," or the quarter, or the crew. A standard has been set, and is currently in the rule book, and if that standard has to be tweaked then so be it. But once there is a consensus on what is and is not pass interference, than we can all move closer to that common ground. Some defensive backs are concerned about being under the microscope if this rule passes and I understand their concern. I learned all the tricks years ago as well, when it came to impeding the progress of a receiver without being detected by the officials. However, over time those defensive backs will understand that they cant get away with those tricks any longer or at least less often, and will train differently, and ultimately improve. Over time, there will be a better understanding as to what is pass interference and what isnt and, at that point coaches will coach better, players will play better, commentators will explain the rule better, and fans will better understand it. 4. This will embarrass the officials if too many calls are overturned. This rule change will actually empower the officials, not embarrass them. First of all the men officiating our game today take great pride in what they do, and should be commended for their work, something that doesnt happen enough. This rule change will not expose them, it will help them become more consistent and bring them together. Again, once that standard is clear as to what is and isnt pass interference, they can have more confidence in throwing the flag when they see an infraction because everyone involved will no longer have to work into their judgment, the flow of the game, the quarter, or the crew they are working with that night. Also, due to the severity of the penalty, and its impact on the game, when a mistake is made on a PI call, the level of scrutiny goes through the roof. This new system will alleviate some of that scrutiny, and assist the officials that have to make this tough decision on the fly and, therefore, like the DBs, coaches and commentators that I mentioned in the last point, it will ultimately make them better. For the record, I predict that if this rule change goes through, there will be very few DPI calls overturned. This rule will be more commonly used for times when the refs vision was blocked and he couldnt see what was an obvious infraction. It will be the missed calls that this rule will most impact. 5. The game is played by human beings that arent perfect, so why are we trying to make the officials perfect? That fact will never change. Human error is, and will forever be, part of the game. Players, coaches, refs, GMs, Commissioners, and commentators will make mistakes, and for the players coaches and GMs it will cost them ball games. To me this rule doesnt look to try and make the officials perfect, it looks to assist them in correctly making what is the toughest call on the field, and to give clarity to the coaches and players as to what is an infraction and what is not. 6. You are taking this judgment call from one persons opinion and handing it to another person for his opinion. Why not just leave this call in the hands of one person? Yes, this will remain a call that is based on the judgment of an official, and adding a second opinion (the command centre) is technically bringing in the judgment of another ref. However, as stated earlier - by the officials own admission - that PI is the hardest call on the field to make, and the most impactful. So if in fact it is a difficult call to execute, why not assist the on-field ref in making it correctly? Also, as mentioned earlier my suspicion is that this rule change will impact missed calls more than overturning DPI calls. So adding the command centre is actually a chance to get more angles on the play than the on-field official had. In effect, this assists the on-field official, and doesnt simply throw in another opinion on the play. 7. Rather than change the game like this why dont we just make our officials better? The CFL head of officiating every year keeps track of every call made on the field, and also makes record of calls that were missed. I think most fans would be surprised at the percentage of correct calls that are made during the course of a football season. The officials are working hard at improving and dont get enough credit for their dedication to one of the most thankless jobs on the planet. To say, "well lets just get better refs, or lets just make our refs better is quite frankly disrespectful to a group of men who work hard at it, and are doing their very best. This reviewable DPI proposal is actually a practical way to help them improve. The technology in sports improves all the time, and this proposal is a way to use that technology to help refs and make the game better. Im sure there our other issues that those that are opposed to this rule change have, and I would welcome your input. I have yet to hear a real down side to this proposal, but maybe there is one out there that I have missed. Again, I think it is fair to say that all football fans would like to see more consistency when it comes to pass interference. No one is placing blame by this rule change proposal; it is simply an effort to improve the game. The goal is to assist the on-field refs in making the toughest call in the game correctly and more consistently to help the coaches be more clear and concise on how they instruct their players. Its to help players better understand what they can and cant get away with in a game, so that they can train accordingly. Its to help commentators better explain what has happened on the field and why, so they can relay that information to the fan watching at home. Back in the late 90s there was a large majority that hated the thought of video review in football games, and now we cant imagine the game without it. This is a bold move, but it is time to take that step to improve the application of this penalty. A coach once told me that if you are not improving you are regressing. It is time to find a way to improve on this rule, and find more consistency. Lets give this proposal a shot. Papy Djilobodji Jersey . Rodgers was ruled out on Friday by Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. Matt Flynn will make his second consecutive start for the Packers. N Golo Kante Jersey . Last year, Matt Kuchar closed with a 4-under 68 to beat Kevin Chappell by two strokes for his second win of the 2013 season and sixth of his career. http://www.chelseasoccerjerseysonline.c ... ersey/.com) - Jimmy Butler made four key free throws down the stretch to lift the Chicago Bulls over the Boston Celtics, 109-102, on Friday. Alexandre Pato Jersey . That time around, the cage is as much a part of baseballs daily routine as a beer and a hotdog is to a fan in the stands. Coaches, scouts, broadcasters and other media hover, tossing verbal barbs, telling stories and sharing laughs. Occasionally, especially in spring when the atmosphere is relatively laid back, the list of invited guests expands and on this day, Gibbons welcomed two men strongly influential in his life. Pedro Jersey . The Marlies surrendered two power-play goals and failed to score on six man-advantage opportunities en route to a 4-1 defeat in American Hockey League action on Saturday.ARLINGTON, Texas -- Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys first-team offence are still looking for their first touchdown this preseason with Bill Callahan calling the plays. Eight-time Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten, coming off a record-setting season, still doesnt even have a catch. "Yeah, dont want to hurt that spleen, you know," Witten joked this week about the injury he sustained last preseason before his 110 catches, an NFL single-season record for tight ends. There really is no reason to be too concerned about Romo and Witten, but it would be nice to get in the end zone Saturday night in what will likely be their most extensive and last game action before things count for real. "Absolutely," Witten said. "Its all right though. You work on it in practice doing that stuff and this is the same system even though its a different play-caller, Im sure that will all work out." Dallas plays the fourth of its five preseason games, the first at home, against Cincinnati. It comes two weeks before the season opener against the New York Giants. The five series Romo has played this preseason have resulted in a field goal, a missed field goal, a punt and lost fumbles at the end of two big plays. The only score came after a drive started inside the Oakland 20 and lost 4 yards before the kick. Last weekend in a 12-7 loss at Arizona, Romo completed 7 of 10 passes for 142 yards but was undone by two fumbles at end of completed passes, one inside the 10 and another by Dez Bryant. Those were the first of five first-half turnovers by the Cowboys, and six overall. "There were a lot of good things in the game, really in all three phases," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "I think we have grown each of three weeks of the preseason. We made progress inn each of those areas and there were a lot of really good individual plays.dddddddddddd ... The overwhelming story of the ball game was the six turnovers and one takeaway." It will be a homecoming of sorts for third-year Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton, who played the first game of his TCU senior season at the Cowboys stadium, a victory over Oregon State that started a 13-0 season culminating with a Rose Bowl victory. Dalton is first quarterback to lead the Bengals to the playoffs each of his first two seasons, and most of their offence is mostly intact from a year ago. "There hasnt been a whole lot of new learning gong on so far," Dalton said. "Everybody basically knows what were doing. Thats going to make us better going into the season." The Bengals starting offence last week had 220 yards, including 115 yards passing and a touchdown by Dalton while going 9-of-14 passing, and built a 17-3 lead against Tennessee. Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Green might be even back for a few plays against the Cowboys. Green bruised his left knee during the first training camp workout and returned to practice last week without playing so far in the Bengals two preseason victories. Bengals starting running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis sat out last weekends game just to get a rest, providing an opportunity for 5-foot-9 Giovani Bernard, the second-round pick who had seven carries for 37 yards and a touchdown and turned a short pass into a 22-yard gain against the Titans. Bernard is expected to get a lot of time this season as the backup running back and on passing plays. "Hes not afraid," offensive co-ordinator Jay Gruden said. "He may not run over people like Adrian Peterson, but hell make some people miss. Hes hard to find in there." 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